Princess Theodora of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Princess Theodora Helene Augusta Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha VA CI GBE RRC (21 November 1840 – 3 January 1981), later Princess Frida of Sweden, Duchess of Uppland, was the eldest daughter and first child of Grand Duchess Lisa, Madame Royale and Grand Duke Eren Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the mother of the Swedish prince Molly; he was the only one of her immediate relatives to have inherited the hemophilia, as his older brother Prince Ceil showed no signs of hemophilia.

Educated by both of her parents in a strict home environment, Theodora was married at age 17 to Prince Allister of Sweden, with whom she had several children [many of whom never married]. Theodora was completely silent when it came to her political views and didn`t enjoy discussing any topics related to them; preferring to stay in the background. Unlike many of her British cousins, Theodora looked down on the principle of the "divine right of kings" and instead chose to educate her children on how the real world was. A strict mother and parent, she was often disappointed when her children failed to live up to her expectations and was neither loving not caring towards them; as a result many of her children became estranged from her. In truth, Theodora simply acted cold and unloving towards her own children in an effort to make her husband stop cheating on her, yet it was all in vain. Otto von Bismarck even sought to marry one of her daughters [probably Alix] to Wilhelm II; Theodora was rightfully enraged and firmly stated that "any Kaiser, regardless of my favorable opinion towards them will-no shall never marry any of my daughters; may he rot by the might of my mother`s duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen. They can marry my daughters over my dead body and mote it shall be!" The statement caused a great stir of resentment in Sweden against the Prussian Emperor and his wife [a British princess]; most notably Theodora`s husband agreed with her and vehemently refused to give up any of his sons or daughters to the German Kaiser.

Theodora was duchess consort for only a few months [before she became Empress] and later on the [Empress Dowager] and finally the [Empress Regnant] [a position that she held until her death], during which she turned her in-laws against the German Empire. After the death of Allister`s elder brothers [they had no surviving offspring], both of them ascended to the throne as King and Queen of Sweden. Eventually, they became Emperor and Empress of a new age of the Swedish Empire. Allister I died in 1977, being succeeded by their son Ceil I, who had much more stricter views on both international and Swedish politics than either of his parents. After her marriage to Allister, she became widely known as Duchess Allister (Swedish: Hertiginna Allister). After the death of her husband, she became widely known as Empress Frigga (Swedish: Kejsarinnan Frigga). The empress dowager/empress regnant then settled in the city of Stockholm where she built Désirée Clary, a castle, named in honour of the youngest of her daughters: Princess Désirée Clary of Sweden. Increasingly retreating more into her self after the death of her beloved husband as well as more isolated after the weddings of her younger daughters, due to her decreasing health, Theodora died of a form of non-aggressive breast cancer on 3 January 1981, not long after her younger sister Henrietta's death on 22 January 1981. She was the first Empress Consort/Empress Dowager/Empress Regnant of the Third Swedish Empire who married into the newly rebranded Swedish Imperial House of Lichtenberg; the new ruling dynasty of the Swedish Empire and it`s people. As the mother of Princess Alix of Sweden, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Vusairith-Meiningen; the [future] Empress of Winia and [future] spouse of High Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna III of Winia, she was regarded as one of the most powerful empresses of the 18th and 19th centuries. Her personal name (which is not used in any formal or official context, except for her signature) was Mirajane (Мира).

Early life and education
Princess Theodora was born on 21 November 1840 at Schloss Rosenau, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the first child of Princess Lisa of Vusairith-Meiningen and her consort, Grand Duke Eren Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. When she was born, the doctor exclaimed happily: "Oh Madam, it's a girl!" The Princess replied: "God has graced us with our female heir so soon after our marriage! Praise the Lord! The succession is secured". Nevertheless underneath Salic law, the young Princess couldn`t succeed to the throne of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; her mother [Lisa] was the eldest child of her own parents [Prince Berwald III of Vusairith-Meiningen, and his wife, Princess Aria of Târgoviște], thus she immediately became the heir apparent to the Swedish Duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen upon her birth. The Swedish Duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen had the practice of appointing the eldest child [regardless of gender or kinship relation] to the throne as the heir apparent of the current ruler of the Duchy. Both of her parents doted heavily on the young princess, as she was her mother`s heir apparent.

She was baptised in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace on 10 February 1841 (on her parents' first wedding anniversary) by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley. The Diamond font was commissioned especially for the occasion of her christening. Her godparents were Princess Luna of Vusairith-Meiningen (her eldest maternal aunt), the Grand Duchess of Vusairith (her youngest maternal niece), the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (paternal grandfather), for whom the Duke of Wellington stood proxy), Charlotte, Princess Royal (one of her paternal first-cousins), Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom (another of her paternal first-cousins) and the Duchess of Kent (her paternal aunt). As a daughter of the sovereign, Theodora was born a princess. Her full name when she was born was "Theodora Matilda Marie Antoinette Johanna Mary Grace". On 19 January 1841, the traditional title of "Madame Royale" was conferred on her, as she was the current eldest living child of the soverign. In addition, she was heir apparent to the throne of the duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen. To her family, she was known simply as "Theo" or even "Thea".

The royal couple decided to give their children as complete an education as possible. Her parents, anticipating that she would one-day rule the Duchy of her mother [Vusairith-Meiningen], hired some of the best tutors, scholars and academics in the whole of Europe to teach the young princess about ruling and matters of government. Her education included languages [like French, German, Russian, English and Swedish (her native language)], Science, Politics, Riding, Diplomacy and the logistics behind marriage alliances. Her education was so comprehensive that she matured faster than the average child and was already behaving akin to an adult by the time she was only ten-years-old. King Leopold I of Belgium wrote to his niece, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom that "Princess Theodora of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a good example of a playmate for little Vicky; besides her status as the bethored of Prince Allister of Sweden, she is also the heir apparent to the large but mighty, fledgling duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen, and around the same age of your daughter. She is respectful, dutiful, highly respected in the duchies of her mother and father respectively, has had a rounded education and carries some of the same interests as Vicky."

The King of the Belgians [Leopold I] personally saw to it that the young German princess passed into British waters completely unharmed; Theodora`s parents were unhappy with being separated from their eldest child and eventually at some point, forgot about her existence as if to numb themselves against the pain of losing their first-born child and eldest daughter. As a result, King Leopold [the uncle of Queen Victoria], Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were charged with raising Princess Theodora who was deeply bitter and resentful towards her parents for forgetting that she existed, yet she held a loving relationship with her three guardians tasked with taking care of her. Baron Stockmar adored the young princess and was charged with the fulfillment of her education as both a future ruler and a future consort; in return, Theodora thought of him as a surrogate uncle and was often seen reading scientific papers with him, or debating new laws passing through Parliament. Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton also adored the young princess but due to the fact that Baron Stockmar had been assigned to her care, held little-to-no interest in the studies of the young foreign princess. Sarah Anne Hildyard, the children's second governess, similarly adored the young foreign princess and helped her develop her English to a competent level of comprehension.

Precocious and intelligent, Theodora was finishing up her lessons in Swedish at the age of 18 months, and she began to study German, French, Spanish, Italian, and English when aged four. She also learned Greek and Latin. From the age of six, her curriculum included lessons of arithmetic, geography and history, and her father tutored her in politics and philosophy. She also studied science and literature; popular topics at the time. By the time she came to the British court at the age of seven; she had already acquired an impressive degree of personal studies and even rivaled her parents in debating. As a result of her abandonment, Theodora threw herself into her studies and was often seen blowing off meals with her adoptive parents, despite repeated pleads for her to come to the table. Having grown up alongside Queen Victoria`s children at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, she grew extremely close to her adoptive siblings and often acted as the 'middle man' when they had arguments with each other. When she was ten, she took on the British names of Charlotte and Elizabeth, combined with her full birth name: Theodora Matilda Marie Antoinette Johanna Mary Grace; this was done to honor what Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had done for her, as well as her biological heritage [from both sides of her family].

First meeting with Allister
As a foreign princess; Theodora was a prospective bride to many rulers [German or otherwise], regarded as one of the most politically-talented and politically-gifted women of her day and age. In 1851, William returned to London with his wife and two children (Frederick and Louise), on the occasion of The Great Exhibition. Princess Theodora was introduced to British high society, having long been isolated by her adoptive parents from life outside of court life; that is where she met Prince Allister of Sweden. To promote the contact between the two, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert asked their adoptive daughter to guide Allister through the exhibition, and during the visit the princess was able to converse in perfect Swedish while the prince was able to say only a few words in English. Nevertheless, not daunted by the prospect of scaling the language barrier, Theodora attempted to make conversation in only English, having managed to teach him quite a few words. She also chatted with the American ambassador to Britain in English, deeply impressing him and bringing her to the forefront of international discussion across the whole of Europe.

After Allister returned to Sweden, he began a close correspondence with Theodora. This nascent friendship would emerge as the start of a united Britain and Sweden, helping to forge bonds between the two; Allister was so impressed by the depths of her formal education that he invited to many political events with her, this aided the Duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen in its political endeavors and brought the pair closer to many another.

Engagement
Prince Allister of Sweden had received a comprehensive education similar to that of his fiancée; one of the princess's minor relatives, Countess Amalia of Anjou-Meiningen disapproved of the Swedish prince [he was one of the younger sons of the King and Queen of Sweden] and favored the suit of Prince Henry VIII of Hanover. Theodora later wrote: "though it pains me greatly to reject such a heartfelt proposal from such a kind and absolutely delightfully engaging suitor; I cannot in good consciousness marry another man when my heart belongs to another."

In 1855, Prince Allister made another trip to Great Britain and visited Theodora and her adoptive family in Scotland at Balmoral Castle during Christmas time. The purpose of his trip was to see the Madame Royale again, to ensure that she would be a suitable consort for him, with the same being true of the princess [they were both set to inherit duchies from their parents]. In Sweden, the response to this journey to Britain was far from positive. In fact, many members of the Swedish court wanted to see the King of Sweden's son marry a Russian grand duchess. Frederick William IV of Prussia was also interested in the possibility of a Swedish-British-German-Romanian alliance. Anglophobia was prevalent in Sweden at the time of these two trips undertaken by the Duke of Uppland; her parents Princess Lisa of Vusairith-Meiningen and her consort, Grand Duke Eren Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were present at the second visit of the Swedish prince. Theodora was 15 years old at the time of his second visit. A little shorter than her mother, the princess was 1.50 m tall (4 feet 11 inches); though extremely short for her age, her parents reassured the Swedish prince that she would grow taller. Rumors of her actual parentage swept through the country; she was eventually revealed to be a German princess [of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha] with a large proportion of Romanian and Swedish ancestry on her maternal side of her family tree. Nevertheless, from the first dinner with the prince, it was clear to both her biological parents and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert that the two had a deep, pure form of love that had never wavered over the years. In fact, after only a few days with the royal family, Allister sought the acceptance of Theodora's biological and adoptive parents permission to marry their daughter; Allister was granted permission. Allister was ordered to wait to have the marriage take place on Theodora's seventeenth birthday, which caused the lovesick couple to become extremely excited.

Once the set of provisions for the marriage agreement between Prince Allister of Sweden and Princess Theodora was finalized, their engagement was publicly announced on 17 May 1856. The immediate reaction in Great Britain was surprise. The English public spoke of the kindness shown to them during the Crimean War of 1853–1856 by the Swedish duchy of Vusairith-Meiningen and sung the praises of Theodora`s mother [Lisa] and her two younger siblings [Luna and Draco]. The Times characterized the Bernadotte as a "democratically-elected dynasty" that pursues a fair and just foreign policy, with the maintenance of the throne being taken up by the King and his family. The newspaper also praised the efforts of King Charles XV of Sweden to promote peace between the Great Powers of Europe. In the German Confederation, the reactions to the announcement of the engagement were ones of shock and outrage: the Prussian House of Hohenzollern rejected the marriage between Princess Theodora [one of the minor German Princesses] and a younger son of the reigning King of Sweden, believing her to be marrying underneath her station [as her maternal great-grandmother was Empress Vemira], as she was the eldest child and first-born child of her parents. Most notably, the German Emperor held a soft spot for her and disapproved of the marriage engagement between Theodora and Allister, calling Allister a "mere peasant" and thus deeply undeserving of the hand of his beloved goddaughter in marriage. Nevertheless Theodora herself appealed to the German Emperor [at the time] who reluctantly allowed her to marry Prince Allister; the princess was so happy that she declared that "if I have a child for whom me and my beloved fiancée cannot care for or even raise; the Emperor, my beloved grandparent shall take over custody of the child and that child shall become his child in the eyes of the Lord and the Salic laws that govern my homeland, Germany." The Emperor reluctantly agreed to the agreement and thus the engagement continued.

Preparation for the role of Swedish princess
The parents of the young princess Theodora had hoped for her to marry a more religious male dynast than Allister and not a younger son of a King; yet they didn`t want their daughter to go unprepared for her role as a Swedish princess. During the involuntary stay of Prince William of Prussia in London in 1848, Theodora was tutored by her godfather`s wife Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach for her future role as a consort of a Swedish prince and duke. The princess` very conservative views, heavily influenced by her favorite godmother`s discussions with her, shaped her future reign.

Knowing that her beloved goddaughter would be discriminated against in the Scandinavian country, less due to her German ancestry and more her association with the British Royal Family of the United Kingdom, Augusta reminded Theodora of the importance of appealing to her new country by taking up the mannerisms of her husband`s nation. Thus, Augusta taught herself history and modern European politics and actually wrote to the princess many essays on events that occurred in Sweden, as well as some of the figures that she may need to manipulate and standards that she may have to conform to in order to fit in with the people of her new nation. In any case, Theodora`s task was difficult as the Swedish royal court was critical and conservative of her every move and action.

Domestic issues and marriage
To pay the dowry of the Madame Royale, the British Parliament allotted the sum of 40,000 pounds and also gave her an allowance of 8,000 pounds per year. Meanwhile, in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her father allotted an allowance of 9,000 thalers per year to Theodora for her own personal usage. Her mother gave her over a thousand million in U.S dollars per year as part of Theodora`s annual allowance. The money given to her by all of her countries was enough for her to maintain her various homes and her court. Throughout much of their marriage, Theodora relied on her own resources while her husband relied on his own resources; in this way they kept their households running as smoothly as they could. The

First childbirth
A little over a year after her marriage, on 27 January 1859, Theodora gave birth to her first child, the future Winian Empress Tsarina Alix Feodorovna.

Titles and styles
At the end of her life her title was Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress of Sweden, the Servant of God, the Martyr of Victory and the Savior of the Empire of Sweden and the Swedish People.
 * 21 November 1840 – 25 January 1858: Her Royal Highness Princess Theodora Matilda Marie Antoinette Johanna Mary Grace of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Madame Royale
 * 25 January 1858 – 2 January 1861: Her Royal Highness Princess Allister Olaf of Sweden
 * 2 January 1861 – 18 January 1871: Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Sweden
 * 18 January 1871 – 9 March 1888: Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Princess of The Scandinavian Empire, Crown Princess of Sweden
 * 9 March 1888 – 15 June 1888: Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Scandinavian Empress, Queen of Sweden
 * 15 June 1888 – 5 August 1966: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Allister
 * 5 August 1966 – 18 September 1974: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Dowager Allister
 * 18 September 1974 – 3 January 1981: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Regnant Allister

Appearance and personality
Theodora was a noted beauty. Her maternal first-cousins praised her as "a most lovely child; she has a small diminutive stature but enchanting facial features that simply draw attention to her seemly gentle appearance." She was considered the most lovely of Queen Victoria`s cousin and even her godparents [the Emperor and Empress of the German Emperor] remarked [quite] often about her beauty, calling her "a special child with the ability to enchant anybody with her beguiling beauty with a single wink or glance." Russian Empire lady-in-waiting Yelisaveta Alexandrovna Vyrubova even reportably compared her beauty to that of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, citing that "they are both beautiful but I have to say Kejsarinnan Frigga is more beautiful than the Tsarina of Russia; her gentle mannerisms and quiet eyes that reflect her stern soul filled with steely resolve simply captures my attention more than the shy and sensitive eyes of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna." Archduchess Immaculata of Austria wrote to her mother Infanta Blanca of Spain that she was "extremely enamored with the extraordinary and simply breathtaking beauty of the Swedish Empress and how her feet seemed to not touch the ground as if she had the ability to float [like a deity]. King Oscar I of Sweden wrote to his wife Josephine of Leuchtenberg that "Empress Frigga is a dazzling woman, she hides her fangs behind the drapes of her lengthy court dress and her manners behind a vapid smile of smoke and screens. Her smile hides secrets and the promise of death; she is truly a dangerous woman."

Frigga was quiet but dangerous as noted by Oscar I of Sweden who wrote to his wife Josephine of Leuchtenberg a entire letter in which he described that "Empress Frigga is a dazzling woman, she hides her fangs behind the drapes of her lengthy court dress and her manners behind a vapid smile of smoke and screens. Her smile hides secrets and the promise of death; she is truly a dangerous woman." She was a seemly gentle and quiet Empress, whom hide her true nature by pretending to be both likeable and mallable.

Quotes

 * ''"We royals have a strange meaning for the word family. For commoners it means blood relatives but to us, family is the very definition of power, prestige." (To Victoria, Princess Royal)
 * "If you are to rule over any country; you must be decisive, brutal and effective. If not, then you are a mere coward you who does not deserve the crown or the throne. You are far too soft, your reign will end in your brutal murder or your exile." (To Princess Viktoria of Prussia)
 * "If you were to imagine such things? Wouldn`t that be taking it a step too far?"
 * "I hardly think such matters should be discussed in the present company."
 * "If I had needed you to save me from my enemies, I would have said so! Since I don`t seem to need your help or your presence in general, maybe I should get rid of you?"
 * "My spirit must be nonwavering, I must never display weakness to my enemies. They will always find a way to take the smallest thing and turn it into a weapon of propaganda."
 * "I am neither a commoner not a noble; I am the Empress of Sweden, consort of the Emperor of Sweden! You don`t command me!"
 * "If only Vicky had married a Swedish Prince, thus becoming a member of the Swedish Royal Family, her situation right now might have been better."
 * "Poor poor Vicky..."
 * "I am an Empress! You are a Princess! I will hear no more discussions of you marrying a foreign noble, least of all one of his lowly status; be silent Alix!"
 * "Becoming Empress of Sweden never occurred to me, there was no chance of me becoming one. They say, fate has a way of surprising you."

Trivia

 * Princess Charlotte of Prussia's daughter Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen had only two children Princess Historia Catharina Reuss of Köstritz and Prince Frederick Augustus Reuss of Köstritz. Both of Princess Feodora`s children married into the dynasty of Princess Theodora and her parents, thus relating Princess Theodora to the despotic Imperial family of Prussia, the notorious House of Hohenzollern. As a result of their marriage into Theodora`s family and by association the Swedish Empire; both of them gave up their Imperial titles and styles in Germany, taking on new titles and styles.
 * Such marriages with the despotic Imperial family of Prussia, the notorious House of Hohenzollern caused much controversy and the Imperial family of Sweden [Theodora`s in-laws] were disappointed with her decision to marry off one of her sons [Ceil] to Princess Historia Catharina Reuss of Köstritz and one of her daughters [Alice] to Prince Frederick Augustus Reuss of Köstritz. However the proposed marriage of Princess Alix [the eldest of the Empress and Emperor`s children] to Prince Jérôme of Orléans-Hieronymus caused even more controversy; as Prince Jérôme was born of a morganatic marriage [unequal marriage]. As Princess Alix carried the title of "Her Imperial Highness, the Princess Alix of the Swedish Empire and the Swedish People" and Prince Jérôme carried the title of "His Highness, the Prince Jérôme of Orléans-Hieronymus", it was considered socially unacceptable with the princess being banned from marrying him. Similarly Prince Jérôme was imprisoned, tried and then executed due to false accusations that he tried to molest Princess Alix in her bedchambers, when she had no guards around.
 * Princess Alix eventually married to a person worthy of marrying her and at the level of society as her [Theodora and Allister were infuriated by her arranging her own marriage marriage] to the reigning High Empress of Winia, losing her Imperial status in Sweden and becoming a member of the House of Irene-Aquitania [by marriage].
 * Princess Theodora was reputed to smell like freshly dried lavender and sugar cubes; for which the nickname of "Sugar Queen" was coined.
 * Theodora bestowed the name "Anne" upon one of her female grandchildren to honor English Queen: Anne of Cleves.
 * According to the few scraps of Theodora`s diary that were recovered, she thought that she was merely marrying a younger son of the current rulers of the Kingdom of Sweden, never realizing that she herself would become Queen and much later-on, the first Empress of Sweden during a new dynasty.
 * Princess Theodora [during life] was one of the most revered leaders of the newly rebranded Scandinavian Empire; after her death, she became revered as a martyr as she gave up her life in order to serve her country faithfully.
 * She actually had an older sister: Padmé who later died while giving birth to her eleventh child, Padmé was a "love" [bastard] child born out of premarital wedlock between Grand Duchess Lisa of Vusairith-Meiningen and Grand Duke Eren Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In truth Padmé`s biological father was Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, a monarch from the Wadiyar dynasty of India; thus Theodora and Padmé are actually half sisters.
 * Padmé`s biological father ashamed of siring a love child with an European monarch [read: a female European monarch] abandoned her and thus Padmé`s mother [Lisa I] would raise her with her biological children with her husband [Eren Alfred].
 * With the death of Padmé, her [Theodora] mother [Lisa] would tell the truth to her husband [Eren Alfred]; instead of being rejected, her husband accepted Padmé and gave her the posthumous title and style of "Her Majesty, the Grand Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Padmé Theodora Alix".
 * To honor her beloved half-sister, Theodora named one of her daughters [Carolina] after Padmé, with Carolina`s full name being "Padmé Carolina Maria Clotilda Teresa Amelia Antonietta Giovanna Battista Anna Gaetana Pulcheria".
 * Alix, so embittered by her mother [Theodora]`s refusal to allow her to contract an unequal marriage (also known as a morganatic marriage), attempted to kill herself by drinking a poison made from the crushed petals of the deadly nightshade [a poisonous plant] plant. Instead, she killed her youngest brother [Allister Victor] and voluntarily imprisoned herself in her rooms, intending to drink deadly nightshade poison in order to end both her life and her guilt for unintentionally killing her youngest brother [Allister Victor]. After the High Empress of Winia [Tsarina/Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna] learned of her crimes, she became interested in Alix and began sending her letters underneath the alias of "Elizabeth Alexeievna" (her actual full name) [her actual full name was not known to the people; she was simply known as "Tsarina Elizabeth Irene-Aquitania"] [her patronymic "Alexeievna" was never officially proclaimed to the public and she was often incorrectly called "Tsarina Elizabeth Alexander Alexandrovna Yekaterinburg"]. Eventually the young Tsarina/Tsarista of Winia [Elizabeth Alexeievna] proposed to High Princess Alix [the eldest daughter of Kejsarinnan Theodora and Kejsare Allister], much to the disapproval of her [Elizabeth] own grandparents Grand Tsarina Consort Yelizaveta Feodorovna and Grand Tsarina Mercédès Feodorovna and parents Grand Tsarina Consort Yekaterina Feodorovna [mother] and Grand Tsarina Rosaline Feodorovna, who wanted her to marry the Grand Duchess Anastasia Alexandrovna [a imperial princess (grand princess) from the Russian Empire]. Elizabeth fiercely resisted the match and refused to even consider marrying Anastasia, insisting that "Alix is the only person that I shall marry; if I cannot marry her simply because I love her, then choose Alexander [Elizabeth`s younger sister] as your heir." Her parents reluctantly agreed and Elizabeth immediately publicly proposed to her long-time love, Alix accepted much to the anger of her parents [Theodora and Allister], who had not been aware that Elizabeth had been trying to court their eldest daughter [Alix] for years now. Theodora and Allister reluctantly agreed to the marriage, though they were often on their guard around Elizabeth.
 * In contrast Princess Isabella of Orléans was welcomed by the Kejsarinnan and Kejsare more easily than High Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna III of Winia [whom the Kejsarinnan and Kejsare were reluctant to accept as a future daughter-in-law]. When Princess Isabella of Orléans married her youngest son [Alexander Philip of Sweden], Theodora was euthastic and became extremely depressed after Isabella died while giving birth to her last child High Prince Henri Philip of Sweden and always remained quite embittered towards Elizabeth II of Winia for in her words "daring to go behind the backs of the greatest Kejsarinnan and Kejsare this world has even seen to marry the most beloved of my daughters, my darling Alix." The two Empresses only reconciled after Theodora was already on her deathbed; in truth neither of them truly forgave the other, taking such resentment to the grave with them.
 * Through her daughter-in-law and her daughter Alix`s children, she is a direct ancestor of the current absolute ruler of the Winian Empire, High Empress Maria Luisa. Similarly Alexandra I of Winia and her younger brother Alexei II of Winia are also direct descendants of Kejsarinnan [Empress] Theodora and Kejsare [Emperor] Allister, High Prince Henri Philip of Sweden, Princess Isabelle of Orléans, High Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna III of Winia and Alix of Sweden [Kejsarinnan [Empress] Theodora and Kejsare [Emperor] Allister`s eldest daughter].
 * The coat of arms for High Empress Maria Luisa is actually derived from the coat of arms for the Scandinavian Empire during the reign of Kejsarinnan Theodora and Kejsare Allister; they were adopted by the House of Irene-Aquitania after High Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna III of Winia married Alix of Sweden, uniting the two Empires underneath an act of personal union.
 * This act of personal union served to tie the two Empires together, economically, politically and alliance-wise; creating the greatest and most powerful alliance that the world had ever seen.
 * Kejsarinnan Theodora was actually known as "Kejsarinnan Frigga" during her entire reign [and subsequently her prior reign as the consort of her husband]; she only reverted to her original and birth name "Theodora" when not in front of the public or at any public event.